At the village we found that there were no cars or busses or
tractors or horses to take us home. One villager suggested that we go
to the local Titanium mine and find a truck going to the town below
the mountain. We went to the mine (about 1km easy walk) and Dick found
a truck just about to leave to go to the base of the mountain. The
truck was one of the old standard issue Chinese blue mining
trucks. People living in poorer parts of China will know it! The
brake,clutch, accelerator pedals come up from gaping rust holes in the
chassis! When the left hand suspension was depressed the gears stick
pushed into my leg! Being inside one of these trucks confirmed a
theory I've had for a while. That these trucks are made out of
separate free-moving parts that rattle freely over each other while
the truck moves, like some kind of cheap kit toy that somehow amounts
to a working form of transport. For about an hour the truck negotiated
the steep mountain pass before getting a flat tire. At this point the
driver told us we'd better get out. I think he was concerned for our
safety. We then walked back to the base of the mountain where our
canoe dropped us off. Before we got there we called the canoe people
to send a boat for us. Once again in was an idyllic trip across the
lake.

Tired and sore from nearly 6hours hard walking we made our way back
to Dali Old Town. Incidently, we climbed Cang Mountain the next day,
which is 4097 meters high! That adventure, can be found on my website,
along with other adventures, at www.giboryl.net.

Like many of the Yunnan confluences this one is difficult to get to
because of mountains and hills breaking up the land. If one took the
mountain rode to the South and went as far as one of the villages up
the mountain before walking then this confluence could be achieved
with relatively little pain. However, a stay by the lake at the bottom
of the mountain is well worth it and being rowed across the lake is
also a worthwhile trip. Walking off paths is much much more work than
walking on paths so its best to try to find some local guidance about
the paths that are around the place.

This confluence should only be attempted by experienced confluence
hunters, like we were after we did this one! ;)

If you are going to walk among mountain villages in Yunnan you
should also be aware that not everyone will be friendly towards you
and should therefore be aware of everyone around you and your
environment. You can walk through most farms without trouble but
shouldn't damage any of the crops.

Rating of this hunt:

Degree of Challenge: 4 - A hard days walking mostly off trail. Snow
will soon make this a 5! (1 = very easy - drive to the point; to 5 = a
death march - glad it is over)